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(Full texts of Psalms 113 or 114 may be inserted here) “Hallel is about praising God, not about self-satisfaction. The latter makes us complacent and lethargic, but the former can only expand our dedication to the principles that God’s goodness represents in our lives. Our praise of God can motivate us to do God’s work in the world – the work of liberation, love, and justice.” — Rabbi Sheila Peltz Weinberg Taken from “A Night of Questions: A Passover Haggadah,” The...

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Rabbi Gamliel taught that when we tell the story of the Exodus, we must also explain the meaning of the most important symbols: zeroah, matzah, and maror. (Leader holds up each symbol as the designated portion is read.) Zeroah is a roasted shank bone, which reminds us that God told the Israelites to put lamb’s blood on our doors to escape the tenth plague, the slaying of the first born. We eat matzah because there was not enough time for the...

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LEADER In the traditional Passover seder, we pause to reflect on what we have in our lives for which we are grateful and thank God for the miracles God performed. Let’s now recite aloud the blessings we enjoy. After each blessing, we take a moment to say together “Dayenu — it would have been enough.” 1. We are grateful that so many among us do not suffer from the oppression and hardship of daily hunger. Dayenu 2. We are grateful to...

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On Passover, we read about the ten plagues God unleashed on the Egyptians. The plagues we see today, however, are not punishments from God, but ones of our own doing – because ending hunger is not a matter of resources, but of political will. As we read each of these plagues aloud, we dip a finger into the wine and touch a drop onto our plate. This reminds us that, even as we celebrate freedom, our freedom is not complete when...

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Each year at the Seder, we ask the traditional Four Questions. And each year, MAZON asks a Fifth Question to raise awareness about a particular hunger-related issue and spark important conversations around the seder table. This year, we turn our attention to our seniors, who are aging into poverty and hunger at a rapid rate. Why is it that when we talk about aging in America, we never talk about hunger? Why is this time of life different from all other...

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The Four Questions we ask at our Hunger Seder challenge us to consider what is different about this night. Only when we ask the right questions can we understand the causes of hunger and take action to end this unnecessary plight. 1. Why during this seder do we focus on hunger? Hunger remains a painful physical reality for far too many of our friends, neighbors, and family members. Hunger is an oppressive force that holds individuals back from realizing their full...

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LEADER: The story of the Jewish people’s journey from slavery to liberation is the heart of the seder. Ha Lachma Anya. This is the bread of poverty. ALL: This is the bread of poverty which our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt. Let all who are hungry come and eat. Let all who are in need come and share our meal. This year we are here. Next year, may we all be in the land of Israel. This year we...

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(Leader breaks matzah and holds up the smaller broken piece. The larger piece is set aside as the Afikomen.) LEADER: This broken matzah reminds us that our world is broken. We recall those who are poor, whose uncertainty about their future compels them to put aside the “broken half” for later use. We are shaken out of our complacency as we recall God’s words: “Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt.” Through service to others, we meet the...

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Karpas is from the Greek word karpos, which means “fruit of the soil.” When spring comes we note with pleasure the bounty of vegetables and fruits in the market. Yet in communities and neighborhoods across the country, instead of a seasonal bounty there exists persistent scarcity. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps) is the nation’s most important anti-hunger program and the cornerstone of the federal nutrition safety net, providing vital assistance to tens of millions of...

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The washing of hands is a ritual of purification. We symbolically “wash away” apathy or indifference and prepare ourselves to reignite our passion for justice and our commitment to ending hunger. Later, we wash our hands again and say a blessing in preparation for the festive meal. (The leader pours water—from a “washing cup” into a bowl—over each hand and then repeats the procedure, symbolically washing the hands for all those at the seder table. No blessing is recited at this...

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During the traditional seder, we join together and drink four cups of wine: a cup for each of the promises of freedom God made to the Israelites as God led them out of bondage. Today we join together and make four new promises — promises not about breaking the shackles of Egyptian slavery, but about breaking the bonds of hunger. We do so standing together and calling for a better tomorrow, one in which we are all blessed to have bountiful...

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Each year, Jews across the world join with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers to celebrate the holiday of Passover. But why? What is behind this tradition? Seder means “order.” The ordered rituals and symbols of the Passover seder help us to tell the story of the Jewish people’s liberation from slavery in Egypt. (Leader holds up the Seder Plate and briefly explains the ritual items and what they symbolize.) For today’s seder we choose to recognize that while the Jewish people...

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Early in the Seder we say, “All who are hungry, let them enter and eat.” We move ceremoniously through the Haggadah, reminding ourselves that we once were slaves in Egypt and explaining the meaning of each bite we eat. But millions of Americans and Israelis have only a few bites to eat, which has a very different meaning – it is a reminder that they are  still  enslaved.This year, please join MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger as we again ask...

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MAZON’s Fifth Question LEADER: Each year at the Seder, we ask the traditional Four Questions. And each year, MAZON asks a Fifth Question to raise awareness about hunger and spark important conversations around the seder table. ALL: How will we retell this story?  How will we retell the story of this past year, and all it has wrought? Though we are still in the throes of the pandemic, we know this will be a defining moment, just as is the story...

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Ask The Fifth Question: Why on this night are millions of people still going hungry?    Passover is a magical time when we gather with family and friends to retell the story of our people’s freedom from bondage. We read from a prayer book, perform rituals that are thousands of years old, and eat. We eat A LOT. Many of us eat far more than we should, but the food is so delicious, it’s nearly impossible to resist. Unfortunately, not everyone is...

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MAZON’s Fifth Question: Why on this night are millions of people going hungry? Passover is a magical time when we gather with family and friends to retell the story of our people’s freedom from bondage. We read from a prayer book, perform rituals that are thousands of years old, and eat. We eat A LOT. Many of us eat far more than we should, but the food is so delicious, it’s nearly impossible to resist. Unfortunately, not everyone is lucky enough...

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 When you are asked in the world to come, “What was your work?” and you answer, “I fed the hungry,” you will be told, “This is the gate of the Lord; enter into it, you who have fed the hungry.”             That hunger exists throughout the world is clearly a reality but it need not be so.  Hunger is not the result of scarcity – the world produces twenty percent more food than is necessary to feed every man, woman and child...